


Song From Arcadia

by carolinecrane



Category: The Covenant (2006)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-29
Updated: 2012-12-29
Packaged: 2017-11-22 19:37:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For as long as Reid can remember, it’s been the four of them.  Then Chase happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Song From Arcadia

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mysticshell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mysticshell/gifts).



For as long as Reid can remember, it’s been the four of them. Best friends and brothers, totally inseparable. But somewhere around junior high it started being Caleb-and-Pogue and Reid-and-Tyler, like they were two matched sets that made up a whole instead of just four of a kind.

He never minded, because Tyler was his best friend, and Reid loved him. He never said it or anything, but Tyler was always just _there_ , so Reid figured he knew.

Except then the whole thing with Chase happened, and afterwards Tyler wasn’t around so much anymore. He stopped showing up wherever Reid was, stopped coming by his house just to hang out or showing up at his locker between classes. 

Which…whatever, it’s not like Reid misses him or anything. He doesn’t need Tyler hanging around frowning at him whenever Reid does something he doesn’t approve of, and he sure as hell doesn’t need Tyler to lecture him about using. So if Tyler wants to go off and pout by himself in his room or wherever, it’s not Reid’s problem.

At least it’s not his problem until Caleb and Pogue notice that Tyler’s not hanging around, and once they start asking Reid every five seconds where he is, it gets annoying. That’s the only reason Reid goes looking for him. It’s not like he misses Tyler or anything, Reid just wants him to stop being such a freak so Caleb and Pogue will get off his back.

It takes awhile to track him down. Reid checks all the usual places: Tyler’s house, the gym, even the library before he finally finds Tyler hanging out in the woods past Caleb’s dad’s place. He’s not even sure what makes him think of it, because they haven’t hung out back here since they were kids. But there Tyler is, leaning against a tree with his nose buried in a book, so wrapped up in whatever he’s reading that he doesn’t even look up when Reid approaches. 

“Dude, what the hell are you doing out here?” Reid asks when he gets close enough for Tyler to hear him.

Tyler barely looks up even then, shrugging and sticking his nose back in his book. And it must be pretty interesting, but when Reid leans in to look at the title it’s just one of those old magic books they keep in the library.

“Seriously, man, the guys keep bugging me about where you’re hiding. What’s the deal?”

“Guess I just haven’t felt much like hanging out,” Tyler finally answers. He does look up at Reid then, and Reid’s known him long enough to see that he’s pouting about something.

“So…what, you’re just gonna hang out in the woods by yourself like some creeper?” Reid asks, but when he laughs Tyler doesn’t laugh with him. “You know what, dude, fine. Stay out here by yourself, see if I care.”

Reid scowls and turns on his heel to walk away, but he only manages a few steps before the sound of Tyler’s voice stops him. “I’m scared, okay?”

“Of what?” Reid asks, turning to frown at Tyler again. “You saw what we did to Chase, dude. We’re practically gods.”

When he grins Tyler just shakes his head, but he closes his book and finally looks at Reid for real.

“I’m scared of _you_.”

Hearing his best friend say he’s afraid of Reid shouldn’t make him feel like he’s been punched in the gut. It shouldn’t matter at all, because it’s just Tyler, and he’s always been kind of a dork. But as soon as he says it Reid’s stomach kind of curls in on itself, and he has to curl his hands into fists to keep himself from doing something he’ll regret.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Tyler sighs like he’s over it already, and that’s fucking rich, considering he’s the one who started it. He’s the one who’s been moping around just waiting for somebody to notice and drag it out of him, and now that Reid’s giving him what he wants, of course Tyler’s making it his fault.

“I saw Chase,” Tyler says, pushing himself off the ground to face Reid. “I saw what happened to him when he used too much, how crazy it made him.”

“Yeah, and we kicked his ass back to wherever he came from,” Reid answers.

Tyler shakes his head like Reid’s missing the point somehow, and Reid digs his fingernails into his palms to keep from interrupting.

“My point is that he was using too much. You’re my best friend, Reid. I don’t want you to end up like that.”

Reid thinks about telling him to fuck off, because seriously, he’s tired of the lectures. He gets it from Caleb enough as it is, and he doesn’t need another mother telling him how to live his life. But Tyler looks like he’s thinking about crying, and something about the look on his face makes the knot in Reid’s stomach tighten even more.

“I’m not gonna end up like that asshole,” Reid says, though he doesn’t even sound like he believes it. “Dude, come on, you know me.”

“Yeah, I do,” Tyler answers, but something about the way he says it tells Reid that that’s the whole problem. It makes Reid’s heart pound too hard against his ribcage, and that pisses him off, because he doesn’t want to care what Tyler or anybody else thinks.

“So, what, you’re just going to blow me off from now on because you’re scared I’m going to go crazy like Chase?”

“No,” Tyler says, taking a few steps forward. He stops just in front of Reid, and he looks kind of nervous, but there’s determination there too. “Truth is I’ve been reading about magic addiction.”

“Oh, yeah?” Reid asks, his lip curling into a smirk. “So you’re gonna cure me?”

Tyler shakes his head, and Reid tells himself he’s not disappointed. There’s no reason to be, because there’s nothing to cure.

“It’s just like any other addiction,” Tyler says. “There’s no cure. You just have to decide there’s something more important than the rush you get from using.”

As soon as he mentions it Reid feels the itch in his fingers, the need burning in the base of his stomach at the thought of using magic. He thinks about throwing Tyler backwards just because, or maybe just picking up that damn book of his and using his magic to fling it into the nearest river.

But before he can make up his mind Tyler’s even closer, and when he reaches up to cup Reid’s face in his hands, Reid forgets all about magic. “Dude, what…”

That’s as far as he gets before Tyler’s kissing him, harsh and desperate and Reid knows it’s not his first kiss, because Tyler tells him everything, but it sort of feels like it. Like maybe it’s the first one that _matters_ , and if Tyler’s just trying to distract Reid from using magic, he’s doing a pretty good job.

When Reid doesn’t kiss back Tyler pulls away, looking scared and kind of embarrassed, and Reid knows this is the part where he asks what the hell Tyler thinks he’s doing. He’s supposed to ask if Tyler means it or if he’s just making the sacrifice to take Reid’s mind off using, but the truth is he doesn’t really care.

When Tyler’s hands start to leave his face Reid reaches up to grip his wrists, fingers tight on his skin and holding him close. 

“I…” Tyler says, and he looks terrified now, so Reid takes pity on him and drags him forward to kiss him again.

Tyler lets out a muffled gasp against his mouth, and Reid can’t help laughing, because seriously, he started it. But Reid’s fine with ending it – more than fine – and he just keeps kissing Tyler until he relaxes into it and wraps his arms around Reid’s neck.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Tyler says when Reid lets him up for air, cheeks pressed together and breathing hard against Reid’s skin.

“Dude, come on,” Reid answers, and he knows he sounds kind of annoyed, but the hands stroking up and down Tyler’s back tell a different story. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Swear?” Tyler asks, pulling back to look at Reid.

“Yeah,” Reid answers, then he leans in and presses another kiss to the corner of Tyler’s mouth. “I swear.”

Tyler nods, but Reid can tell he doesn’t really believe it. Which means Reid’s going to have to work to convince him, at least if he wants to see where this thing between them is going. It means using less, but he’s got Tyler to distract him now, and maybe that’s what he needed all along.


End file.
